


You’re a Lucky Man (She Called You an Idiot)

by GalahadWilder



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, How I Met Your Mother - Freeform, How I Met Your Mother References, Silly Arguments, adrien watches too much tv, literary criticism, pre-reveal, romeo and juliet - Freeform, william shakespeare - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-02 11:33:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20275228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalahadWilder/pseuds/GalahadWilder
Summary: Adrien and Marinette have VERY different opinions on the meaning of “Romeo and Juliet.” But hey, at least she’s talking to him.





	You’re a Lucky Man (She Called You an Idiot)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in the right circumstances, is occasionally a _terrifying_ force of nature. It’s not something Adrien’s seen a _lot_, mind you, but he has seen it occasionally, and he’s heard enough from their mutual friends to know that it happens a lot when he’s not around. Get her emotional enough to forget her anxiety and she becomes a riptide, dragging everyone in her social wake.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng also—apparently—has some very strong opinions on English literature.

It starts innocently enough, with Nino and some gentle ribbing. “Hey, Romeo,” he says as he slides into his seat after lunch, elbowing Adrien in the side. “How go things with the mystery coworker?”

Adrien tries to hide his smile. ”You and your Romeo jokes,” he says, dodging the question. “What’s wrong with Romeo?”

Nino opens his mouth, but he’s interrupted when Marinette mumbles something under her breath. Both boys turn to look at her, confused, and she looks up, realizes they heard her, and tries to hide her head between her shoulders as her face goes red.

“Nette?” Nino says. “You say something?”

”Um, I..." Marinette straightens a little. "Yeah,” she says. “There's... a lot wrong with Romeo.”

Adrien snorts—that doesn't make any sense. "_Everyone _loves Romeo," he says. "He's the classic romantic protagonist!" He lofts a hand in a manner that is admittedly similar to how he transforms for Chat Noir, framing her face within his fingers. "But soft, what light through yonder Mari breaks?" he says with a winning smile, hoping that maybe she won't freak out this time.

She doesn't. Instead, she _growls_ at him. "Romeo killed six people in two days," she hisses, her hackles raised.

Adrien blinks. "What?" He turns to Nino, hoping for support or maybe an explanation, but Nino won't meet his eyes. Alya, too, is inching away from Mari, though Marinette herself seems not to notice. She's too focused on him, the fire in her eyes like a searchlight freezing him in place and _oh_, THAT'S what Nino meant about the Mari Penance Stare.

"_Romeo and Juliet_ isn't a romance," Marinette grumbles. "I'm sick of people treating it like one!"

"Okay but none of those deaths were Romeo's fault," Adrien says, holding up a finger.

"Really?" Marinette snaps, her face twitching around her nose like she's trying not to scowl. "Did you even _read_ the play, Adrien?"

Everyone in the classroom is staring at them now. Even Mme. Bustier has stopped preparing her materials for class in preference for watching their argument, and Adrien can't help feeling the attention (that he's fairly sure Mari isn't even _tangentially_ aware of.) "I, uh—"

"_Every single death_ in that play happened because Romeo makes _stupid decisions_," Marinette spits. "He's stupid and reckless and honestly if I were Juliet I'd have dumped him the moment Mercutio died!"

"He did it for love!" Adrien protests. He's never seen her like this before, fierce and tempestuous—there's iron under her skin, he can see it now, and honestly he can't help comparing her to Ladybug a little. Unfair as that might be to both of them.

"And that makes it _better?_" Marinette says. "Juliet was _twelve_ and he knew her for _two days!_"

"I never said it wasn't a tragedy!" Adrien cries, throwing his hands up. "But it's the families' fault! The tragedy is about the feud!"

Marinette shoots to her feet, slamming her hands on her desk. "The tragedy is how _stupid_ and _impulsive_ Romeo is when _if he wasn't so reckless he wouldn't have to keep dying in her arms!"_

Adrien suddenly gets the impression they're no longer talking about Shakespeare. "You know he'd do anything for her," he says, no longer sure which him and which her he's talking about. It's true for both of them though, and he has to stand up for himself.

Marinette snarls. "God, you're an _idiot_—"

Suddenly she stops, her breath catching halfway out her mouth with a teakettle whistle, and all the blood drains from her face. "I—I mean, uh—you're—I don't think... you're right?" she squeaks, trembling. Her eyelid twitches and she turns to Alya, who has backed to the very edge of the desk. "_Oh my God did I just call him an idiot?" _she whisper-shrieks.

Something about that catches in Adrien's brain. _She called you an idiot. _Why does that thought seem... happy?

Alya, wide-eyed, nods.

Marinette gasps, her hands shooting up to cover her mouth. "Oh God Adrien I'm so sorry I didn't mean it I'm sorry I don't think you're stupid you're really smart I mean—"

Adrien barely manages to process what she's saying, because suddenly his brain screeches to a halt. _If she calls you an idiot, you're a lucky man. _That American sitcom with the gay actor and the architect.

Marinette called him an idiot.

"It's—It's okay, Mari, really!" he says, putting up his hands to placate her (and trying to hide the redness in his face). "I mean, yeah, I'm—I'm definitely an idiot sometimes, you know?" He laughs anxiously, knocks on the side of his head. "Hear that? Empty. Nothin' in here."

Marinette stares at him, then giggles, and Adrien's ribs stop crushing his lungs just a little bit. Mission accomplished.

Mme. Bustier clears her throat. "As entertaining as that was," she says, "I believe it's time for class."

Everyone shifts back into their seats and turns to look at her. But Adrien—Marinette called him an idiot. He can't quite let that go. He takes out his phone, hiding it under the desk, and shoots a quick message to Nino.

**_Adrien: _**Do you think there's a chance

**_Adrien:_**that Mari might

_**Adrien: **__..._*like* me?


End file.
